Polls opened on Monday in Sudanese presidential and
parliamentary elections that are expected to extend the quarter-century
rule of incumbent Omar al-Bashir as the opposition boycotts.
Outside
a polling station in Khartoum's El-Daim neighbourhood, representatives
of the candidates had already set up stalls, and inside electoral
volunteers waited for the first voters in the three-day elections, which
have already drawn international criticism.
A
team of four local observers watched over the ballot boxes, while the
streets outside were quiet after the government declared polling day a
public holiday late the night before.
OPPOSITION BOYCOTTS
The
mainstream opposition is boycotting the elections and has called on
voters to stay away, saying that the conditions in the country are not
right for free and fair polls.
Facing
just a clutch of little-known challengers, Bashir, the world's only
sitting head of state wanted on war crimes charges, is widely expected
to win comfortably.
The European
Union warned ahead of the vote that it could not produce a "credible"
result because Bashir's National Congress Party snubbed a meeting with
the opposition to organise a national dialogue last month.
The
elections for the presidency and the national and state parliaments end
on Wednesday and the results are expected at the end of April.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon